Tuesday, January 31, 2012

One question I get asked the most is where I'm from. I've been told that it's hard to tell from the way I talk and I don't don't talk about where I live much either. It might be because I don't really live anywhere that cool, but it's also because I don't think everyone needs to know where I live.

I have moved around a lot in my life. I've lived in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and a couple other places. I've also traveled and been lucky enough to enjoy several places I'd like to live, like Austin, L.A., Pittsburgh, Bloomington, Illinois and Bloomington, Indiana.

The truth is that I live in the middle of nowhere and I don't claim any place as my hometown. My mailing address is a Vincennes address, but I don't call Vincennes home.

After my bookstore closed and I moved away, I decided that no city is my home. My home is truly where my heart is. As long as I have my daughter and the people I love around me, I'm happy and I'm at home.

At one stage in my life, I was proud to be called a local Vincennes author, but Vincennes has enough authors, like my friends B.C. Brown, Molly Daniels, Floyd Root, Benjamin Martinson and others. Unlike the "Author" and plagiarist, David Boyer, that Vincennes is noted for, these other authors are great people and have a fine mix of styles. They have a writing group, that I was once a member of, and they are people that the city can be proud of.

I am not someone the city can parade around and promote. We tried. It didn't work.

My style is too crass and I don't have a love for Vincennes.

Some people might think that I'm being an asshole with these statements, but if that is the case, I'm fine with that. Those people are either missing my point or only looking at the negative aspects of it. Nothing changes either way.

I'm not the best at anything. I'm not even that cool. I'm J. Travis Grundon. I'm from the middle of nowhere and I write stories full of bad words and bad people, but I love what I do and I'm happy.

I think having my heart broken, dealing with jerks and being an asshole at times has helped my writing. I am able to write from all sides of the friendship and romantic relationship spectrum with conviction. I know what it feels like to be the bad guy and the guy with a broken heart.

Not every character can be a brash bad-ass or a hopeless romantic. I have been told to write what I know, and I think it helps to write believable characters, even if the situations are unbelievable.

“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” ~ Gloria Steinem

*NOTE: This is not an anti Vincennes blog. I don't hate any city and I don't hate anybody. It's just an answer to a question. Vincennes has just as much good as it does bad. I just have a lot of bad memories and unhappy feelings when I think about it.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

TERMS casting is moving along. Happy Hour Blues is about ready for its Valentines Day release and I am a happy guy. I don't really know what else to say.

I hope everyone will go check out the TERMSmovie Facebook page. We are giving out a lot of prizes and the buzz surrounding this film is just getting bigger and better. I really think people are going to be talking abut this movie.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/TERMSmovie/230711477001693

I would also like to take this opportunity to suggest that all of you check out the movie Bellflower. This is the first movie to hit me with such impact since Fight Club or KIDS. It is unbelievably incredible. It has easily made my Top 10 and may break my Top 5 favorite films of all time.

Fans of my work will love this movie, and the other way around...I hope.

I should also mention that I am really enjoying this season of Californication, despite my previous trepidation about this season. It has had some really great lines and the characters are really evolving. I look for silly things like that in a television series.

One of my new favorite quotes:

"If you break my daughter's heart,being stomped on by a bunch of gangbangers is going to seem like a play-date compared to the can of rape-ass I will open up on your...ass." Hank Moody, Californication

I hope I get to announce some of the really great news I'm hording next week!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Nine year old Brianna (Bri) Clouse was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Diffuse Anaplastic Wilms Tumor and has began treatment at Riley Hospital. This page is to offer our love and encouragement to Bri and her family, but also to help coordinate fund raising efforts. All funds collected through this page and its administrators will go directly to Bri's mother, Amy Nichole Stantz to use as she needs it. Currently, you may also send well wishes to Bri by sending them to:Riley Childrens Hospital702 Barnhill Dr.Brianna Clouse Room 5122Indianapolis, IN 46202

We are planning a silent auction to raise funds for Bri. We have decided that the best way to do this is online through this page. We are currently seeking and collecting donations for the auction. Watch for the album to appear in the next few days. If anyone has anything or knows of a business that would like to donate an auction item, please check out the Facebook page or contact me directly at j.travisgrundon@gmail.com. You can also "Like" the page and leave a comment or message event organizers, Stacy McCandless or Trissa Clark.

I will personally be donating copies of Eclectic Collection and Happy Hour Blues.

Bidding on these items is a simple way to buy cool stuff and help a family in need!

Monday, January 16, 2012

It's officially Monday and that means it's time for a new blog and the announcement of the title for my new collection of short stories. Not everyone is going to like this title, and even I'll admit that the cover lacks that eye catching power Eclectic Collection had, but I wanted to keep it simple. I didn't want the cover to be too busy. I want this book to be about the words. I think the stories inside this book are what is important.

HAPPY HOUR BLUES

At this time Glorious Bastards Press and I are working to have this puppy ready for a Feb. 14th release date.

The film is slated to film early June in Indiana. It is a low budget, non-union feature. Food/lodging will be taken care of for the cast. A DVD copy of the finished film will also be provided. The film has a strong, early buzz building already.

*Auditions: Video Audition only!*Submission Period: Jan 13th - Feb 16th*Submit your headshot, resume & video audition to Camille at arsonistpix@gmail.com. We are seeking a dramatic monologue/scene that will show how well you can handle a dramatic, tense situation.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Edits are moving along on the next collection of short stories, and I have had to come up with a new title, since Guy Drinking Coffee #3 is still the title of the third book and because I am excluding my novella, Cloud 8, from the second collection. I've landed on a new title for the second book and I think I really like it. The new title will be revealed very soon and I'm working with Glorious Bastards Press for a possible Valentine's Day release date.

The script for WOTLD was finished, but I'm working on my first rewrite of it, because I didn't like how it jumped near the end. I think this and TERMS is some of the best writing I've produced. I can't wait for both of these movies to start filming.

Here is the recent exclusive interview Director Joshua Hull and I did with horrorsociety.com.

Don't forget to "like" the TERMSmovie and J. Travis Grundon - Author/Screenwriter Facebook pages for all kinds of updates, casting information, and contest. We are giving away a copy of Eclectic Collection, copies of The Collective Vol. 1 & 2, and a copy of Joshua Hull's first film Beverly Lane. Check it out and get in on the winning!

I have been asked to be a part of a couple more projects, that I'll be talking about later, but with the release of my second book, the TERMS book, Cloud 8: A Novella, the filming of TERMS, and the start of WOTLD, it's going to be a very busy year!